Re: Top 10 concerts of 2012

10. The Faint - Terminal 5 (12/7) - The Faint played all of their 2001 masterpiece "Danse Macabre" and other songs till almost 1am. I haven't seen the whole crowd dance like that since LCD Soundsystem residency @ T5 in 2010/2011. New songs sounded great as well

9. Nicolas Jaar - MoMA PS1 (2/5) - On a Sunday afternoon, Nicolas Jaar played a 5-hour improvised/continuous multimedia set with his friends by recording, looping, live visuals (by a rotating camera) and sampling with analogue instrumentation all inside a dome. He was feeding off the crowd and the space in an unimaginable way.

8. Little Dragon - Prospect Park (8/10) - Little Dragon played a free Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park and it was a huge dance party. There were people standing in the seats and dancing in the aisles the whole time! They keep getting better live and the drummer makes all of their songs fantastic live. Just watch the video...

7. Desaparecidos - Troubadour (8/31) - Seeing Conor and the boys at one of the best/smallest venues in LA was a real treat before FYF. This show brought me back to high school days when I used to listen to Read Music/Speak Spanish non stop. They played two brand new songs so maybe they'll finally release another LP

6. Radiohead - Santa Barbara Bowl (4/12) - I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't look at any pictures or setlists before this show. It was really surprising how intimate this show ended up feeling (after seeing them in arenas later on the tour), with the band and the crowd being in good spirits! Everyone in the pit for the most part were respectful of others, appreciative of the scene and totally into the music. There was no talking, shoving or bullshit of any kind. Speaking of kind, the bud smelled great and was apparently everywhere Thanks to Michelle and John for sharing those joints Best part of the show was when it started raining right before Thom started singing, "Rain down, rain down".

5. Dinosaur Jr - Terminal 5 (12/1) - As much as I hate going to shows at Terminal 5, I couldn't miss Dino celebrating 25 years of "You're Living All Over Me" with "special guests". What a fuckin show it was. We wound up with an epic setlist and guest lineup worthy of any rock music fan's wet dream: Johnny Marr (the Smiths), Frank Black (the Pixies), Kim Gordom/Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Tommy Stinson (the Replacements), Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Dale Crover (the Melvins), Suzanne Thorpe (Mercury Rev), Kyle Spence (Harvey Milk), Al Cisneros (Sleep), Kurt Vile, Don Fleming, Dante Ferrando, John Petkovic and Fred Armisen. My favorite part from the show...

4. Pulp - Radio City Music Hall (4/10) - When Pulp announced they were playing Radio City, I didn't sleep on this chance. I loved every minute of their set and this was the reunion to beat all reunion shows. Everyone complains about bands reuniting, but this one topped them all Pulp is more than a rock band live. They are a symphony. There's so much going on stage. You'll never see a band put on a better performance. Never. Thank you Jarvis & co!

3. Sigur Ros - Styline Stage at Mann Center (7/29) - Seeing them play their first show in 4 years didn't disappoint. The new songs aren't the best but the old ones sounded just as good if not better than they did 7 years ago especially with the visuals. I prefer seeing them indoors (the music consumes you and a much denser wall of sound) though being in that park in July was very nice. It felt weird without Kjartan with them but the other two guys filled in nicely for the most part. Overall you can't miss a show when this band comes to town period. Next up: Madison Square Garden

2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Barclays Center (12/3) - Seeing Crazy Horse finally this year put a huge smile on my face. But on this particular night, they were on fire. It was louder than MSG show and it helped since the new songs are long and noisy. I could feel Neil's guitar tone in my knees. This show was outstanding and well worth the money. Neil Young's sound, vocal chords and chops have gone unchanged since 1970 except for the extra chins and beer guts, this band is frozen in time. That's a good thing and rare if you're going to a show fronted by anyone 60+ years old. Oh, and Patti Smith ruled.

1. Bjork - NY Hall of Science (2/18) - Bjork brought "Biophilia Live" residency to NY: 5 at NY Hall of Science in Queens and 5 at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. This show was truly a unique experience with no more than 450 people in the venue. She played in the round and it was more like an event/experience than a straight up concert. All I have to say is The Creators Project came though again! I can't wait to see what venue(s), she'll be playing in San Francisco this year

Re: Top 10 concerts of 2012

Yeah nice Spooks. Its nice to see the details of another giant music scene. I'd love to hear something similar from an Austin boardie if there is one.

Im getting in the mood to go back and described my top 10 like that. Maybe.

Thanks guys! I left out couple good shows (Roger Waters, the Who, Leonard Cohen, Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Nas, Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Amon Tobin, New Order, the Clean, the Afghan Whigs, Ty Segall, Father John Misty, Mogwai and etc) but I tried picking out the best ones that I could remember. Hopefully 2013 will be another great year!